1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to editing of video sequences and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for defining an event schedule such as a pan and/or zoom schedule used to create a video sequence.
2. Description of the Related Art
To increase impact and attractiveness of an image display, an image (e.g., still photograph or single video frame) may be presented as a video sequence including pan and/or zoom effects with respect to objects in the image. For example, a story may be related from a single image by focusing on one portion of the image (i.e., a focus frame), then panning to another focus frame, focusing on that portion of the image, and subsequently panning and focusing on multiple other focus frames. Zooming (in or out) on a portion of the image further enhances the viewer experience. This effect is commonly known as the “Ken Burns Effect”.
One conventional approach for creating such video sequences uses a text interface to identify and sequence object(s) such as focus frames, and specify pan effect and/or zoom effect with respect to the focus frames. In a video editing tool, such as ADOBE PREMIERE® ELEMENTS™ available from Adobe Systems, Inc., each focus frame is represented by a rectangular box circumscribing an object within the image. For example, an author of such video sequences numbers the focus frames through text input in the order that reflects the desired pan and/or zoom sequence. If the user desires to change the pan and/or zoom sequence, the text based schedule needs to be altered to describe a new pan and/or zoom sequence. In general, such text based scheduling techniques are not intuitive. Furthermore, reordering pan and/or zoom sequences may cause panning times between two objects to be either too slow or too quick, and result in a less than optimal viewing experience.
Therefore, there is a need for improved method and apparatus for defining an event schedule such as a pan and/or zoom schedule used to create a video sequence.